I want to merge my Wii U or 3DS info with my Switch. How do I bring it all together? Like this!

You might have a Nintendo Account. You might have a NintendoNetwork ID (NNID). If you’ve just started using the Nintendo Switch, you might not have both accounts linked together. There are a few reasons why connecting your Nintendo Account to your NNID could benefit you’re gaming experience, like being able to combine your eShop funds across devices. Here’s how to link your NNID with your Nintendo Account.

What’s the difference between a Nintendo Network ID and a Nintendo Account?

The short answer is that a NNID is used to make purchases on the Wii U and 3DS, while a Nintendo Account is used to make purchases on the Switch.

To expand on that a little more, if you have a Wii U or a 3DS, you probably created a NNID to use the eShop or to access multiplayer functions and other system-wide interactions.

When Nintendo launched Miitomo, it brought with it a new type of registration called a Nintendo Account. This account lets you connect to Facebook and Twitter to find friends, and keeps track of rewards you earn and friends you’ve made. It was later implemented into Super Mario Run with similar features, and again when Fire Emblem: Heroes launched.

With the Switch, the company has used the Nintendo Account as your means of making purchases and finding friends. Again, when you sign in with your Nintendo Account, you will see suggested friends you already have on Miitomo, Mario Run, and Fire Emblem: Heroes.

The main reason to link your NNID with your Nintendo Account is to merge your eShop funds. If you’ve got $10 or $100 left on NNID account for your Wii U or your 3DS (or both, since you can merge Wii U and 3DS), you can merge those funds with your Nintendo Account and use the monies across all devices.

Another advantage of combining your accounts is the My Nintendo rewards. You earn points for completing achievements in games connected to your Nintendo Account. Those points can be redeemed for rewards that can be used across all your Nintendo devices. I redeemed my points for a sweet Zelda 30th Anniversary theme for my 3DS, even though I had earned those points by playing Nintendo games on my iPhone.

How to link your Nintendo Network ID to your Nintendo Account

If you have a NNID and want to link it to your Nintendo Account for convenience on your Switch, you can do so by visiting accounts.nintendo.com from a web browser.

You’ll need the user name and password for both your Nintendo Account and your NNID, so be sure to have them handy.